Growing Pains
by La Mort Kage
Summary: Squick. Shino hasn't been showing up to practice lately, and Kiba and Hinata worry. Kurenai tells them he's just sick, but the truth is...
1. Chapter 1

"Shino has a problem." Kurenai-sensei said, explaining to Kiba and Hinata why Shino hadn't been around much lately, showing up for barely an hour before disappearing off somewhere.

Shino thought that Kurenai-sensei had a way with words. Kiba and Hinata were now looking at him like he was terminally diseased, that he was about to drop dead and had come to say goodbye.

"He's going through some changes, and because of the nature of his condition, it's not too good for him to be around people outside of his clan right now." Kurenai-sensei continued, and Shino could see Kiba's insatiable curiosity bubbling to the surface. Shino sighed, irritation rising within him, causing his kikai bugs to begin buzzing under his skin. Normally, he'd be able to handle such an irrelevant emotion with ease, but now…

"Well, I suppose Shino-kun should go home, if he isn't f-feeling well." Hinata offered shyly, smiling encouragingly. Shino felt his ire ease away, but his bugs wouldn't settle as something else surfaced.

"Hey, I'll walk with you Shino! If you're not gonna be here, there's no point in training." Kiba grinned, purposely showing more of his sharpened canine teeth than was required, and Shino shifted his weight back, ready to dodge, his defenses up and the kikai bugs jumping to get out.

"Why don't you all head home for now? I've got to get going anyway, I'll be back in a few days. Don't forget to practice on your own while I'm gone." Kurenai-sensei was gone in a blur of an afterimage, and Hinata and Kiba were left to walk an uncertain Shino back to the Aburame compound.

Akamaru yipped and his little white-furred body jumped down from his usual resting place inside Kiba's coat and he began trotting along the path. Hinata followed the growing puppy while Kiba hung back to walk next to Shino.

"So, what's wrong with you? Are you sick or something? Is it something that has to do with your clan?" Kiba asked quietly, trying not to let Hinata hear. Shino watched the way Akamaru weaved his way between Hinata's legs as she walked, trying to trip her. A warm content feeling settled in his chest, and he could feel the edges of his mouth pull up.

"It has to do with my clan. Because of the kikai bugs we carry inside our bodies, when we hit puberty and our hormone levels start to fluctuate, our emotions become more volatile. Because our kikai bugs partially respond to our emotions, this can cause complications. I have to keep myself separated from people outside my clan, so that I can learn how to control myself and harness my emotions."

Kiba was unsuprised by Shino's little monologue. Because Shino was such a quiet person, when he was asked to speak, he usually let out a flood of words. Kiba, having been around Shino for some years, was used to his random floods of speech.

"Huh, that sucks. All that happens to the Inuzuka's is that we just talk louder and act a little rougher." Shino paused for a moment, pondering the idea of a Kiba who would be worse than he was now. He let out an uncharacteristic sigh, shaking his head. The feeling of doom hanging over him made his kikai bugs settle deeply under his skin.

Hinata had turned and was waiting for the two boys, giggling as she listened to Akamaru show her his cat impression. Shino watched how her lips moved, and the delicate way her hand came to cover her mouth, the gentle bend of her spine, the way her chest was heaving…

Shino sighed once again, and moved forward to walk next to Hinata, while Akamaru went back to run circles around Kiba. Shino tried to keep distance from Hinata, but she moved closer to speak with him. His bugs were once again buzzing, aching to reach out, to smell her, to taste her skin and her sweat.

"Shino-kun, I hope that you'll b-be okay. H-how long do you th-think that you'll have to stay home?" She asked him, looking up into his sunglasses with an innocent smile. She trusted him, and felt comfortable enough around him that her stutter was more from habit than nervousness. And Shino was thinking about her…

The sudden wave of guilt and embarrassment made Shino clear his throat and a bare light dusting of red decorated his cheekbones, mostly obscured by his glasses and high collar. "Maybe a week. It depends." He said, his deep voice not wavering in the slightest. However, Shino could see Kiba out of the corner of his eye, and the brunette looked very suspicious.

Hinata nodded, too polite to ask what was wrong with Shino, but she once again wished him well, and told him that she'd visit soon. Shino watched as she jumped up onto the roofs above, his gaze firmly fixated on her rear end until she was out of sight.

"You like Hinata." Kiba stated, Akamaru's head sticking out of Kiba's jacket. Both sets of eyes were staring at him, not angry or accusing, but Shino knew Kiba better than that.

"I like her body. If there were any other girl around, I'd also be looking at her." Kiba and Akamaru were still staring. "Kiba, you know that I have a fiancé from my own clan. You know that I'm happy with this. I'm not going to touch Hinata."

The words that Shino hadn't said sat in his chest like a weight, but Akamaru yipped, and Shino knew he was forgiven. Kiba laughed and threw his arm around Shino's shoulder, confirming it. Kiba and Akamaru parted ways with Shino at the front gates of the Aburame compound, promising to come visit the next day.

That night, Shino pictured her soft body in his mind, delicate, yet it had so much power and flexibility. He gasped and shuddered, holding himself tightly in hand, the feel of her skin and the taste of her sweat transmitted to him from the bugs he'd planted on her. He fell back on his bed and wiped himself up with the sheets. He fell asleep imagining her sleeping next to him, and with the feel of her sleeping body from his kikai bugs.


	2. Chapter 2

It surprised me that everyone who read this seemed to think that Shino actually was in love with Hinata. However, I am basing this on the reviews, so perhaps I am mistaken.

(,',)

Her pink hair was a very recessive gene, much like blue and green. No one else in her family had the distinctive pink colour that she did. Her attitude was from her mother, though apparently the green eyes were from her father. Her slim build, narrow hips and small breasts were a family trait, and were excellent for the lifestyle of a Kunoichi. Not many of her relatives were shinobi, though.

Shino watched her walk out of the library with an armful of books as he continued mentally cataloguing what he knew of Haruno Sakura. Possessive, he recalled from their academy days, and very intelligent. She had an excellent memory for facts and details, and the tightest chakra control seen in an academy student in ages.

Shino watched from the far side of the street as the books wobbled, first this way, then that way, and then…

"Oh no!"

CRASH

Sakura managed to catch a few before the majority toppled into the dirt, one landing incorrectly and cracking its bindings. Sakura cursed quietly as she knelt to pick them up, cursing even more violently as she found the one which had broken its spine. Shino watched as her newer, shorter skirt rode up, revealing muscular and thin lightly tannedlegs. Under his skin, he could feel his Kikai bugs stirring.

"Oi, Shino!" Kiba yelled as he threw his arm around Shino's shoulders, "Thanks for waiting for me. I don't understand why that damn vet thinks that Akamaru needs such expensive medicine just for a little cold, but I'll do anything to get Akamaru feeling back in top shape before the next Chuunin Exam. Hey, it's gonna be out in the Hidden Rain, right?"

Shino nodded, continuing to watch Sakura as she piled up the books, a little more carefully this time, and leaned over slightly to give herself the leverage to stand. In that moment, Shino had the perfect opportunity to see right down into the small opening in her vest-like shirt.

"So, I know that Hinata still needs to work a bit on switching from offensive to defensive forms, and we're gonna work on that tomorrow, and I still have to work out how to keep the backwind from unbalancing Akamaru and me, but we'll have to do that a few days from now when Akamaru's feeling better. Maybe we should pick up another C-rank mission to do until Akamaru's well again."

Shino watched Sakura walking away, her gait slightly unsteadied by the books she was carrying, but her thin hips still swung back and forth subtly, her waist and spine bending to allow her upper body to remain stable. "I agree. You will tell Hinata tonight?"

Kiba nodded and they started walking, the opposite direction that Sakura was walking in, but the same direction as a thin yet busty brunette in a dark blue yukata. Her hips swung much more obviously, and her gait was swinging and unchecked, meaning she was a civilian. "I was gonna leave a message at the Hyuuga Compound's main door." Shino nodded to show that he understood. It was a good idea.

"I have an errand to run for my wife, and then I'll be working with my father for the rest of the afternoon." Kiba knew better that to ask what Shino and his father were working on.

"Alright then, I'd better get home before Akamaru starts whining again." Shino turned to the hairdresser's shop on his left. From that roof, it would be five roofs east and two to the south to reach the only bakery that made strawberry tarts just the way his wife liked them.

"Oh yeah, Shino?" He paused a moment, turning his head to look at Kiba over his shoulder. "I like your new look. The hood is pretty cool." Kiba said with a smirk, snickering to himself. Shino raised an eyebrow in amusement, and then left, jumping up onto the hairdresser's rooftop.

(,',)

Panting hard, Shino laid down beside his wife who obligingly moved over to give him room. She too was breathing irregularly, perhaps even more so than he was. She adjusted her glasses, which had been knocked slightly askew when he'd mashed her face against the pillows. Removing the pillows from the bed beforehand would be something Shino would remember for thenext time.

Once she had caught her breath, she leftto goto the washroom just outside their door to wash off. Shino went to their dresser and chose a lighter nightgown for her and a pair of loose shorts for himself. It was a warm night.

He knew that she had seen the stream of Kikai bugs that had delivered the scent and feel of several different women to him during the act, just as he had seen her own Kikai bugs doing the same for her. At one point, just before she came, he recognized Kiba's scent on one of her bugs.

When she came back, he went into the washroom for a quick rinse. She was already asleep when he returned, and he dressed for bed and got under the covers. They didn't touch one another, because it was too warm a night for cuddling, and neither of them often indulged in it.

Shino could still smell the lingering scents of several different men and women in the air, and sex on the sheets. He closed his eyes. Aburame always were considered to be deviant.


End file.
